September 10, 2014 – Fifty (50) seniors from American Heritage School in Plantation, Florida have been named Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program; they were top scorers on the Preliminary SAT/NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) throughout the state of Florida. This is the greatest number of students ever to achieve this ranking at American Heritage, ranking them as the #1 high school in Florida and #12 out of 22,000 high schools throughout the entire nation.
Qualification for this national recognition is based on Selection Index scores (critical reading + mathematics + writing skills scores). Semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition with the chance to earn a National Merit Scholarship.
Twenty-five (25) additional Heritage students received Commended status on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score that is typically below the level required for participants to be named Semifinalists in their respective states. Commended students do not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, however, some of these students are candidates for scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.
Two other national recognition programs honored record numbers of Heritage students this year based on their PSAT/NMSQT scores. Twenty (20) seniors were selected by the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) as the top academically outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students. Six (6) seniors were named Semifinalists for The National Achievement Scholarship Program, an academic competition providing recognition for outstanding Black American high school students.
“I am so proud of these students,” said Elise Blum, Principal of the high school at American Heritage. “It is quite an accomplishment to be among the top 1% of high school students in the entire nation, and I hope this accomplishment gives them the confidence to continue to achieve great things,” Blum said.
